Carlos Sainz just explained exactly how he would break the Max Verstappen teammate curse at Red Bull

There was a period in 2024 when Carlos Sainz’s future in F1 looked uncertain, as it took a long time for him to decide where he would drive after Ferrari.

He was still a world-class driver capable of winning races, but the lure of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari was commercially too big an opportunity for them to turn down.

Questions over where Sainz would end up went on for months, with the most logical option being Red Bull. As a former Red Bull driver and given Sergio Perez’s poor results, it made sense to put Sainz in the car to add some intra-team rivalry.

This always improves a team’s results because, like any great sporting rivalry, it allows them to identify where they are going wrong and make improvements. But Red Bull had concerns over his prior relationship with Max Verstappen, and amid the backdrop of the Christian Horner scandal and Adrian Newey’s exit, decided not to ruffle the feathers even more.

In reality, this was a mistake. Red Bull have ended up in a cul-de-sac, promoting two drivers who are not capable of matching Verstappen, nor adding anything towards solving their problems with the RB21.

Would Sainz have made a difference? His recent comments in an interview with Mundo Deportivo about Ferrari’s 2022 car suggest he would’ve been the perfect teammate.

Carlos Sainz details how 2022 Ferrari made him adapt as a driver

One of the key areas where Verstappen’s teammates often go wrong is in chasing the same car setup as him. Alex Albon once mentioned the ‘snowball’ effect that comes with trying to match his eye-wateringly sharp car characteristics.

Verstappen loves to have as much front-end in the car as possible to make it easier on turn-in, but that often does not suit the more natural driving styles of other drivers because it can take them by surprise.

Sainz has detailed how Ferrari’s 2022 car enabled him to overcome that fear, after it also required a similar setup parameter.

“When you change teams, there are driving styles that suit one type of car and others that suit it less well. I’ve always been a little better with a stable car, because my natural driving style is that I manage to rotate the car more in the corners, that is, I create a lot of oversteer with the brakes and the steering wheel,” said Sainz.

“If you give me a stable or too stable car, I’ll spin it, and if you give me a car with a lot of front end, I’ll spin it too much. So, in an ideal world, I’d lean more towards the stable side, but I’ve never driven a car as ‘sharp’ [with a lot of front end] up front as the 2022 Ferrari. I ended up getting pole positions, and I finished the year super strong.”

“That gives me the pride and satisfaction of knowing that whatever they throw at me, I’ll do well. If you give me what comes naturally to me, then perfect, I’ll go fast right away. And if you give me the opposite, I was also able to adapt.

“Although it might not have been my best version, I think it was a pretty solid version. For example, I got into the McLaren and in the first race I said: ‘I love this car.’ And that’s when I probably brought out my best F1 version. Even the 2021 Ferrari, I also really liked.”

READ MORE: Williams star Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Red Bull made a mistake by not agreeing to Carlos Sainz deal

The whole reason Red Bull swapped Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda after two races was to focus on their chances in the Constructors’ Championship, but that plan has backfired.

Red Bull left the Spanish Grand Prix over 200 points away from McLaren and with Verstappen now 20 points behind in the Drivers’ standings and on the verge of a one-race ban.

Team principal Christian Horner was clear in outlining that Red Bull needed two cars scoring big points each weekend to be in the hunt for the Constructors’ title, and so far, it has been the one-man Verstappen show carrying them.

Sainz had a rough start to life at Williams, but he’s scored 12 points and been a regular fixture inside the top ten – even fighting with the Ferraris in Miami and Imola.

He’s also contributed massively to improving their car’s performance, having quite quickly understood their strengths. It’s no small feat, given Williams are not bringing as many upgrades as their rivals, yet still scoring big.

Red Bull needed a driver like him to come in and fix their problems, but now they face breaking their unbeaten title run since 2022 in what was once the most dominant car ever seen in F1.